


Path of Stars

by evr



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Cardcaptor Sakura AU, F/F, Gen, M/M, most character ages are dramatically changed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 16:26:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15666915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evr/pseuds/evr
Summary: Alisha is an elementary school girl with a happy home life. A hard worker. Reliable. Kind.Somewhat reluctantly, she's given the task to recover a set of magical cards, and she's not confident in her ability to do so.





	Path of Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caeliindyvo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caeliindyvo/gifts).



> Commission following these terms: http://caeliindyvo.tumblr.com/post/167771108283/cardcaptor-sakura-au-with-sakuraalisha
> 
> If you'd like to commission me, there are details in my profile or on my tumblr. :)
> 
> Considering the changed ages, I'm highly doubtful this will ever be terribly shippy, but there will be some. uh. puppy love.

One thing Alisha held in common with her brother (among a great number of things held in common), was a love of old, heavy books. Though she was years younger than him, she was competitive enough to keep up with his reading level, borrowing the same books he would from any library, sometimes even trying to sneak his newest finds into her room before he could get to them.

That was what had brought her to the heavy, locked tome on her desk with the strange sun and moon emblem on the cover. It was old and smothered with dust, but the spine was in excellent condition aside from the sun-bleaching from age. She wondered if anyone had ever read it. It wasn't a library book, lacking the telltale sticker marking its place on the shelves even though it was in her brother's new stack of rentals; she shouldn't have snatched it. She knew she ought to put it back, that he'd be upset if he bought it and it went missing, even if he'd know she was the culprit. Worse, it might've been a gift for his friend….

...But in truth, that made her want to inspect it all the more. Gifts for Mikleo had to be extremely special, after all.

However, curiosity wasn't a key, and the book was still quite locked. She hadn't seen a key anywhere near the stack of library books. It had an odd-shaped keyhole and latch, and it looked as though the years had clogged it with dust anyway. Perhaps a pin or a needle would be able to pick the lock? If there was no key, her brother would need the help anyway, so she felt her next move was justified, and opened her desk drawer to find the sewing kit Lailah gave her on her birthday (and with a pang of guilt, she remembered that she'd asked to learn to sew and had truly wanted the kit, but was awful at it and hadn't touched it in months after her first disastrous experiment with it; the lopsided teddy bear was hidden under her bed, a button eye drooping from its face pitifully).

She picked a pearl-tipped pin and indelicately jabbed the keyhole, forcing out a wad of brownish-gray gunk and poking around to find any catches. As soon as she was prepared to give up and go to the library for a book on lockpicking, she heard a clicking noise and cheered internally. The latch came undone and the pages were stuck together from being held shut too long, and she gave a discouraged frown.

Conversation and the door opening forced her to drop her task and hide the book in the desk drawer - not with intent to keep it! It was merely a panic response, and she'd put it back and admit to the theft (if it came up). The sound of enthusiastic arguing told her it was her brother, bringing Mikleo over for dinner. It was a common event since Mikleo's mother was almost never home and Sorey would invite him _every_ day, but still her nerves fluttered every time he walked in.

To be fair, he was a beautiful and charming young man; while her brother was fine walking out the door without brushing his hair or tucking his shirt in, Mikleo was always very tidy, and would always do things like bring a comb to tame Sorey's hair before they got to the school, or lecture him on how sloppy he looked with a crooked tie. Alisha strove to be more like that, carefully grooming herself every morning and perfectly arranging her uniform, pulling up her wildly wavy hair on the side of her head, a style Mikleo and her mother had once both paid her compliments on in the same day, leaving her with the impression that it was definitely something special and worth repeating (Sorey's compliments meant little, on the other hand. He'd praise her for remembering to breathe, he was just a bright and positive person like that).

Though it wasn't a school day, she checked the mirror to make sure her modest dress was properly tied in the back and her hair was arranged cutely before daring to leave her room and see what the older boys were up to. She wasn't given permission to join them once they holed up in Sorey's bedroom, but she wanted to greet them before that happened, and ask where they'd been all day.

They smiled at her when they saw her come down the stairs, and Sorey held up a small pastry box, "Mikleo brought treats! Want some?"

Her eyes locked on Mikleo and that warm, small smile on his face and she nodded, "Yes! Thank you very much!"

"Don't thank me. Sorey already ate half the box. I need to keep a closer eye on him," Mikleo looked over at Sorey and his smile turned into a fake-looking frown. She knew it was fake because he never genuinely seemed unhappy with things her brother did. "But there's still a cheesecake slice. You can have it, if it won't spoil your appetite for dinner."

"Please!" She beamed, "Are you helping my brother cook tonight?"

Sorey was scowling at Mikleo, she only just noticed. They teased each other a lot. "You'd better hope he isn't helping, he'd just burn everything again."

"That was _one time_ \--" Mikleo sputtered, forgetting himself for a brief moment and huffing, then recollecting himself. "He wanted to make curry. Something so easy even he could make it without error." They glanced at each other again and both folded their arms haughtily, as if either of them were winners in this little competition. Alisha found it charming rather than childish, though she couldn't be sure why. Mikleo just had that effect on her.

"Any interest in helping today?" Sorey offered, but didn't especially seem like he wanted or needed her help, so she shook her head.

"I've got something else to do, so I'll keep busy until dinnertime."

Mikleo had served the slice of cake on one of her favorite plates - he had an eye for detail like that, and was very thoughtful. She graciously accepted it and thanked him again.

Before she could leave to return to her room and her secret project (and possibly her homework, after that), she turned and asked them, "If pages of a book are stuck together, what's the best way to separate them without tearing it?"

They glanced at each other, and Mikleo covered his mouth thoughtfully. "Steam it, perhaps?"

"Oh, like opening envelopes!" Sorey looked impressed, "That's a great idea!"

Alisha thought so too, though it also seemed risky. The book was old, very old, and water damage would be so tragic… "Maybe I'll take some tea with me, and see if that's enough," she decided aloud, hurrying over to the stove to make a quick cup of it. Over the few minutes it took to boil the water, the boys had become engulfed in their argument again, and she was left out of their discussion but still listened to them. They spoke of witch trials, and a small group from the time period that fought against it after being accused. She found it fascinating but a little scary, and was relieved when her tea was ready and she could head back upstairs.

Immediately, she held the book over her tea and tried flipping the pages open, working at it gently with her fingers and noting that there was some progress being made. There was no hint of text on the corners of the pages she'd freed, not even page numbers, just yellowed paper.

As she peeled back the first page, she found handwritten notes in a language she couldn't read. She thought she imagined it, but it felt as though there was a strange pressure building between the pages in the center of the book.

She had a short-lived thought that perhaps her brother and Mikleo might've had some secret language they'd made, but no, considering the age of the book it was impossible that it could've been theirs. She continued, peeling back the next page with a little hum of satisfaction that she'd succeeded.

The pressure didn't go away, and became less ignorable. It built up enough to contort the pages and she panicked, knowing that if she destroyed the book it probably wasn't something she could just _replace_. Forcefully, she shut the book and held it with as much weight as she could, taking to her feet and leaning against the book on her desk.

With a loud popping noise (and she must have imagined it, a flash of light), the book sprang open and threw her back onto the floor with a yelp. "Oww…" She groaned and got back to her feet, and saw that the pages were hollowed out, and there had been some sort of… plush toy inside?

It wasn't covered in dust, but it had a soft, rounded gray body and wide eyes. "What is this…?" She asked, knowing a toy wasn't going to answer. "Did Sorey pick you out for Mikleo? Or were you a gift from Mikleo?" No that couldn't be right, the book was locked tight. Unless he got it as some sort of puzzle or something - that seemed plausible, but if that was the case then she'd be in trouble for ruining the surprise.

Still… This toy wasn't really fitting to either of their tastes. Sorey might buy this kind of goofy-looking thing for Mikleo, but surely he'd know Mikleo wouldn't actually like it much; he was too dignified for toys like these. Well… Probably. That was her impression.

"Alisha? You okay?" Sorey had knocked twice before opening the door to check on her; it was profoundly annoying that people thought it was okay to just open her door before awaiting a response, but Sorey likely picked up the habit from their mother. "You're being kinda noisy."

She didn't have time to hide the book or the stuffed animal, so she looked up at him looking rather ashamed, "Mm, I'm okay. Sorry if opening that book caused any problems for you. I was just so curious."

"What book?" Sorey glanced around, and tilted his head curiously at the the book and the plush.

"It was in your room," She explained, closing the book and showing it to him, "locked and covered in dust, with your library books."

"...Huh. Maybe I grabbed it by accident? I've never seen it before."

"Oh," she turned a bit pink in the face, "Maybe Mikleo gave it to you?"

Sorey shook his head. "No, he's not acting like he's trying to give me anything. You know how he gets. He'd be all flustered."

"Must've been a mistake, then…" Alisha let out a relieved sigh. She'd check to make sure the library wasn't looking for it after school tomorrow, and then she'd feel much less guilty about it.

Sorey gave her a few seconds and then grinned, "Dinner's almost ready. Going to come down?"

"Yeah! I'll be right there."

Once her door was shut again, she placed the plush on the corner of her desk and propped it up neatly. She supposed it was cute; it wasn't quite suited to her taste, but it was cute. If nobody claimed ownership of it, maybe Lailah would like it.

 

 

* * *

  


It was her turn to help with the dishes. She was still pretty small, so she had a small stool to stand on while she washed the curry pot by hand. Mikleo, the perfect house guest, was helping her out by washing utensils. Sorey was draped over his shoulder and insisting he stay later so they could study together, and Alisha wasn't a part of that conversation.

After spending time outside of her room and in the company of her family (yes, Mikleo was very much included in her family by now, as he was around so often and was so close to her brother), she'd gotten enough distance from the book and her curiosity that she genuinely felt embarrassed by the situation. She'd never have hidden something from her brother like that, and she couldn't say what had come over her when she saw that mysterious book.

Well, Sorey wasn't mad at her, so she ought to just be relieved at that. Not that he got mad often. Maybe if she'd broke something important he'd be upset, but they respected each other enough not to break each other's things. And yet, she'd been so determined to open that book, that could have been something very personal and secret…

"Are you okay?" Mikleo asked her. It suddenly occurred to her that she'd been washing the same pot for too long, distracted by her thoughts.

"Oh! Um, yes." She tried to brush it off, rinsing out the pot and awkwardly setting it beside the sink for her brother to put away since she wasn't tall enough. "I have some homework left to do. Thank you for helping me with the dishes!" It felt silly. Like some spell had been put on her.

She would lock that book back up and find its proper home tomorrow.

Before she slept that night, she looked over that little plush again, and was tempted to change her mind.

  


* * *

 

 

"Come on, stay over," Sorey was whining now. Mikleo always caved when Sorey started whining.

"Ugh, fine, get off me," he said with a scowl. Bingo! Sorey grinned and backed away finally. "Don't you think that sort of behavior is childish?"

"Hm?"

"And inappropriate," He added thoughtfully, folding his arms. "Wasn't your sister getting uncomfortable?"

Sorey tilted his head, "She was kind of zoning out, wasn't she?" She wasn't usually so spacey, so it was noteworthy; still, it wasn't as though deep thought was a _bad_ thing. Maybe she was thinking about her homework or something. He wasn't worried that it had anything to do with them. "It's probably fine. We're always like this, right?"

"You should be more sensitive," Mikleo scolded him, but seemed to drop the issue after that. He helped put a few more things away and then grabbed his school bag, propping it over his shoulder. "Alright, let's head upstairs, then."

Sorey nodded, picking up his own things and leading the way to his room. Mikleo stayed more often than was possibly reasonable, but he wasn't ever a problem. When they were young, they were always together, so it was pretty natural that they'd end up staying that way.

They were so close, Sorey wasn't even embarrassed by his messy room anymore. Sort of. Mikleo sighed and began picking up some of the things all over the floor, making room for the spare futon to be laid out.

"Why don't we just share?" Sorey pointed out, as though only to save the trouble. Truthfully, it just sounded nicer. They'd always shared his bed as kids, after all, and it was fun then, so it would probably be fun now.

"You say that every time I'm here, but you toss and turn so much it's impossible," Mikleo answered, continuing the cleanup and dropping some clothes in a hamper. Most of the mess was all books, but Sorey had a habit of dressing in a hurry some mornings, so pyjamas would end up on the floor often as well.

...Was it bad, that Sorey was relieved if that was the only issue? It felt sort of weird, like it would have hurt much more if he'd been rejected for any reason beyond that. "I don't move that much," He complained.

"I'm too light of a sleeper, and I don't want to be kept awake."

"Fine." Sorey pouted. He'd let it go. They'd end up going in circles as they always did. Better to change the topic. "Alisha found a weird book in my room," He settled on, just in case he'd been wrong about it being a gift. He didn't _think_ he was wrong, since Mikleo was a terrible actor and was always nervous and awkward when he tried to hide surprises, but it was worth making sure.

Mikleo had made a stack of books to put away, alphabetized them, and then realized there was no room on Sorey's bookshelf anymore and frowned, setting the stack beside it instead, "Well, there's not much else you keep in here."

"She wondered if it was yours. It was something really dusty, and it had ancient lettering on it. And a toy inside."

"A toy?" Mikleo looked up at him, "What kind of toy? If it was that old, it might have been an antique or something."

"Nah, it looked like a bean-bag plush," Sorey grinned, "I don't think it was originally in there. But someone must've hollowed out the book for it."

It was satisfying almost, to see his friend flinch, "What a waste. Think of what might've filled it before…"

"That's what I thought!" He laughed, rocking forward in his seat on the bed. Mikleo took the chair in front of his desk. "There are still a few pages to try and decipher, if she doesn't figure out where it came from. I think she wants to keep it."

"So it wasn't yours?"

"Nope. I'd never seen it before," he shrugged, falling back on his bed unceremoniously. "It… felt bizarre."

"Like a ghost?"

"Different." It wasn't a great secret - Sorey couldn't keep secrets - that he could see things that weren't meant to be seen. He was the only one he knew who could, though it seemed as though Mikleo and his sister both reacted to them now and then, stepping out of the way or flinching, even if they didn't realize what was there. "The sort of eerie presence I get from shrines, but not exactly, and not like a ghost."

Mikleo looked down thoughtfully, "Should you be protecting her from it, then?"

Sorey shook his head. "Completely non-threatening. It seemed lonely."

There was a soft laughter in Mikleo's voice when he responded, "It's amazing that you could tell something like that. I'm sure you're right, though, but maybe stay wary of it. You're the type to believe the best in everyone-" he paused, rolling his eyes "-even books, apparently. Just because it's well-meaning doesn't mean it's safe."

"Yeah, you're right." Mikleo was usually right. He had a lot of sense where Sorey lacked it. Alisha would probably be fine, since she was clever and she also had way more sense than he did, but it was smarter to play it safe and keep an eye out, just in case it was something she couldn't handle alone.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, Mikleo thumbing through pages of the library books on Sorey's desk and Sorey getting lost in thought, lulling himself into a tired state. It wasn't even that late, but his full stomach and the quiet way Mikleo mumbled to himself as he read was just too relaxing.

Finally, Mikleo spoke up. "Give me a shirt or something."

"Hm?"

"I didn't bring a change of clothes, since I hadn't planned to stay."

Sorey bolted upright, trying not to think too hard about Mikleo in one of his shirts. And nothing else. They definitely didn't wear the same size so it'd look goofy, but even so, Sorey _really_ wanted to see it. "Okay," he said weakly, fishing a shirt out of his dresser and tossing it in Mikleo's direction.

"Stop being weird," Mikleo chided him, turning around to change. Sorey tried not to look.

"...I'll go get the spare futon!" He said it too loud. His face felt warm.

Most of the time it seemed as though Mikleo had a strange aura about him (something Sorey could feel, sort of silky and sweet, if that made any sense at all), but occasionally it was like this, giving him butterflies in his stomach. Whatever magic Mikleo had, it sure was confusing.

  


* * *

 

 

The city looked so pretty from so high up. Between the soft glow of the moon and the street lamps below, she could see just about everywhere, her school, her house, the library…

As she was suspended on silvery wings attached to a spear that she was riding like a witch's broom, that silly little toy was beside her, saying something to her. It was something helpful, but she didn't understand it; she was too distracted by the sights. Fluttering garments tickled her legs and she flew forward into the deepening sky. That doll was at her right, and a silhouette was at her left, someone with large, angelic wings. Ahead of her on a towering building rooftop was someone in dark clothing and a sharp mask, holding daggers reflecting the moonlight.

 _Who are you?_ Alisha tried to ask them, but didn't get an answer.

Blue eyes glared beyond the mask, sharper than the blades in their hands. They were going to attack her? She couldn't fly closer, then! She pulled up on the spear and took a hard right to swerve around the building, a trail of sparks following after her.

The stranger leapt after her, a wide sweep of their blades almost striking her, but not quite. Once they'd missed, they dropped a dagger and grabbed hard on the end of her spear, hanging from it. A cold shock charged through it and the stranger had seized control of it, the wings disappearing, and Alisha fell.

The toy and the silhouetted angel fell after her, reaching to protect her, but everything faded into blackness and she woke with a start.

Her alarm had gone off. It was just a weird dream.

She stretched her arms out over her head and yawned loudly. Today was off to a bad start if she was having falling nightmares. Even so, she got out of bed and got her uniform ready, preparing for the day. Sorey was making a lot of noise in the next room, so he'd probably managed to talk Mikleo into staying over, which was great, because walking all the way to school with the both of them would already make the day _much_ better.

The smell of something sweet was wafting upstairs as well, which meant her mother had made something delicious for breakfast. Hopefully they'd all have time to eat together.

After packing her backpack, she gave into the temptation of putting the weird book inside of it, along with the weird toy. She wanted to convince herself that she'd done it to return them to the library, or wherever they'd come from, but she also knew deep down that she'd keep it in her possession in the end. The handwritten pages and mysterious hollowed out section the toy popped out of was too great a mystery to resist, and though she was disappointed in herself for keeping it, she was conflicted, and excited to solve its puzzles.

  


* * *

 

 

While Alisha was a bookworm, she also excelled at sports. Home Ec was way over her head. Even though her family took turns making meals every night, she needed help more often than not, and sometimes had to rely on ready-made meals. Luckily, neither her mother nor Sorey minded all that much. Better to eat a frozen dinner than to be poisoned.

Maybe that sounded overdramatic, but it seemed true enough. Lailah, a best friend and classmate, was the only one brave enough to try Alisha's cooking, and often responded with good-natured teasing.

"You're using the wrong knife," Lailah whispered to her, gesturing at the proper one. "Here, let's trade." Alisha's cutting board looked like a mess, but Lailah was already finished.

"Thank you," Alisha shot her a grateful look and Lailah hummed to herself while cleaning up Alisha's mess. It left Alisha with very little to do since Lailah was so far ahead of her though. "I found a strange book yesterday. There was a toy inside of it."

"What a weird place to store a toy!" Lailah looked delighted by it though.

"Yeah, it's kind of cute. Would you like to see it?" Her bag was next to the table, so once she got an answer she leaned over to pull the little plush out.

"Oh!" Lailah looked surprised, "It _is_ sort of cute. I wonder why it looks so plain though… Maybe it needs a hat?"

"Yeah, that might help!"

Another friend on the other side of her, Edna, edged closer with her eyes narrowed. "It looks like a stress doll."

"A stress doll?" Alisha repeated, since she hadn't heard of it before.

Edna took the plush from her and tugged on it between her hands, and it looked rubbery when she did, rather than plush. "It's a doll you beat up when you're mad."

"...That's distressing," Lailah said, looking both concerned for the toy and amused by Edna's antics.

Edna tossed it back to Alisha without much further plush-abuse. She definitely imagined it, but as she tried to tuck it back in her bag it seemed to wiggle indignantly.

"Why don't we make a cute hat for it after school?" Lailah suggested, returning back to chopping while she spoke.

Alisha agreed, but it sank in her rather negatively, since she'd tried so hard to tell herself to find the book's proper home. It made her feel guilty to grow so attached to something that didn't belong to her.

  


* * *

 

 

Since she and Lailah were going shopping together after school, she didn't get to walk home with her brother and Mikleo. That was okay, even though it was nearly a ritual, walking home with Lailah would be just as nice.

Lailah was a pretty girl who loved to dress in fancy clothes; she was the only girl who had added an underskirt with lace to her school uniform. Her light-colored hair was always pulled back into a long ponytail, her eyes bright and sparkling. Alisha wasn't too sure, but she probably came from a wealthy family. Very prim and proper - if she had any flaws, it was her sense of humor (though that was arguable. Some rolled their eyes, but others enjoyed it).

They picked out some fabrics together and debated ideas on the walk home. It landed somewhere between a beanie and a beret, and Alisha would be making the easier of the two.

"Is it okay that I'm coming over?" Lailah suddenly asked, hesitating at the door.

"Of course," Alisha beamed at her, grabbing her hand and tugging her inside. "My brother's friend is here almost every day, so you can be here whenever you want!"

"Oh, that handsome one you talk about?" Lailah used her free hand to hide a smile behind her fingertips, and Alisha turned red, continuing to pull Lailah upstairs to her room. She didn't hate girl talk or anything, but that wasn't why they'd come here!

They settled in, taking the sewing kit from the drawer (and Lailah noticed with delight that Alisha had used a pin and left it on her desk, so she must be using the gift, giving Alisha another awkward pang of guilt. Technically, she _had_ used it) and beginning their project. With a gray-colored doll, they could pick just about any color they wanted to liven it up, so Lailah had picked something white with starry print on it, sort of minimalist. Alisha, the less experienced, picked a plain pink color; she thought it might be easier to fix mistakes if it were a solid color.

"I wonder why it was made with such a large head?" Lailah mused, wrapping the measuring tape around it, "A real creature would topple over constantly with a head this size."

Alisha, struggling to sketch out the pattern she needed to use on the fabric, chuckled at the thought. "It makes it look a bit like a pincushion."

"You're right," Lailah agreed, picking up the doll and setting it on Alisha's desk properly. "Hold this for me, will you?" She said to it, aiming to push the pin into its head.

"STOP! _Stop!_ " Came a high-pitched voice in a panic, and the doll had scooted back on its own. "You girls are terrifying!!"

Lailah and Alisha both froze in place.

It saw that it had their attention and straightened back up, clearing its throat. "I'm Atakk," it stated clearly, "Don't use me as a pincushion or a stress doll." It made a gesture that Alisha thought was pointing.

Lailah was staring wide-eyed, but since she was the closest to it, she reached out and shook its little hand (paw?). "Nice to meet you?" She said, but it came out as a question because of how confused she was. How and why was she taking this so well?

"...Where are its batteries?" Alisha asked, standing and reaching to pick it up again and look for some sort of battery pack. It jumped out of the way of her hand.

"How rude! I'm not an 'it'!" It folded its arms - he folded his arms, and glared at her, visibly upset. "I was put in that book to keep it safe and keep the cards contained."

"Cards?" Alisha repeated, bending so that she was almost eye-level with him. "What cards?" She reached into her schoolbag and pulled the book out, carefully opening it again.

"The Maotelus Cards! They're stored inside--" His demeanor changed completely when he saw the hollowed-out inside of the book, and he let out something like a despaired wail. "Where are they? Did you take them?" His wide, round eyes looked wet.

"Alisha isn't a thief!" Lailah argued immediately, clenching her fists. It made Alisha both happy and queasy, how quickly her friend had defended her when she'd felt like a thief all day.

"She stole the book!" Atakk retorted, "I was waiting for her brother to open it!"

"That doesn't make her a thief! Siblings share things all the time!" Lailah was adamant, but Alisha touched her shoulder to try and draw her out of the argument. There was no point in defending her if she was guilty anyway.

"Maybe… start from square one," Alisha was still having trouble with the 'talking to a stuffed animal' thing, but if Lailah was getting into it, she was drawn in as well. "How can you talk?"

"I'm not a toy, for one thing!" He insisted, taking a proud stance on Alisha's desk. He looked more like a toy than ever. "I was made by a great sorcerer to be the guardian of his cards, a source of magic power."

Lailah looked up at Alisha for a moment, then back to Atakk. "Now you sound less credible than when we thought you were battery-powered…"

Alisha agreed, but couldn't dismiss that explanation, either. _Magic_ was a strong word to use, and it ought to be easy to dismiss as impossible, but her entire life, she'd been aware of strange things - ghosts, for example - because of her brother. Even so, she wanted to brush it off, really wanted to, but instead she clung to every word. It made perfect sense to her that magical things would look for her brother, since he could see them and interact with them.

"Keep going." She decided to encourage him, even if it made her feel silly.

Atakk tapped his foot impatiently. "I was trying to get your brother to find the book so it would be safe, but then you went and _borrowed_ it," he didn't actually sound mad, or maybe his voice was just too goofy to take seriously. "Your power isn't as strong as his."

"So then the reason he had the book…"

"I sought him out, yes. He has the potential to be a masterful sorcerer someday! You shouldn't have even been able to open the lock. So I was waiting for a chance to find my way to your brother alone, but you kept me around and tried to put pins in me!"

"I'm terribly sorry about that, Atakk!" Lailah said kindly, lifting him up and opening her palms so he could stand on them comfortably. "But why pretend to be a toy? You should have been honest with Alisha, she would have passed you along, I'm sure of it."

Alisha might have imagined the pink on Atakk's face when he'd been picked up like that.

"It's too late, now," Atakk said. It sounded like a complaint. "The book's already adapted to her. And all the cards are missing… Probably because her magical ability is so lacking…"

"Oh…" Alisha lowered her head. "I didn't know. I'm sorry." Then she had another thought, "Why didn't you start talking when you realized the book adapted to me, then?" It wasn't _too_ far over her head yet, but these explanations were wild.

"I thought it could wait until you're older," he acted sheepish, "Then you tried to murder me with pins."

Lailah apologized again, with enthusiasm.

"Also, I really did want a hat."

Lailah and Alisha looked at each other, and then smiled. "Let's put a pin in this discussion until later then, shall we? I'll make you a nice hat as an apology!"

He was definitely pink in the face, no imagining it, when Lailah set him back down and began consulting him about fabrics and styles. Alisha knew Lailah's behavior well enough now to know she was buttering him up. It was certainly working; in only a matter of minutes he was friendlier and calmer, excitedly telling her about all the hats he'd like to wear. Alisha folded up her project and abandoned it - it would be one thing to give her clumsy attempt at a hat to a toy, but if Atakk could offer an opinion, then it would be unkind to expect him to wear it.

  


* * *

 

 

"So, if the cards are gone, how can I get them back?" Alisha asked after their new little friend was pleased with his starry hat. Lailah had put a ribbon around it with a cute bow, more her taste than his, surely, but he seemed happy enough.

"If they escaped, they need to be captured…" Atakk looked troubled, waddling over to the book on the desk and flipping it open. "Can you read this?"

"Not even a little bit," Alisha answered, looking over the ancient text and feeling her heart sink. "But I know Sorey could."

"No good. It's gotta be you, now." He tapped on a line of text and continued, "I'll read it for you, okay?"

"Wait, what am I agreeing to, here?" Alisha frowned, but something shining came out of the pages and stopped in front of her, growing long and thin.

_Key of the Seal_

_Bestow the light of Maotelus upon a new Master_

Lailah jumped back a few paces, startled by something. Air was spinning about in a wide circle around Alisha, trapping her with the strange pole of light. It didn't disturb anything in her room, but she felt her clothes and hair whipped around her.

_Release the Seal!_

The light solidified into the spear she'd seen in her dream, small wing shapes framing a blade at the end made of a dark, translucent material tipping a long pink haft.

"Take hold of it!" Atakk instructed her.

She didn't trust it - but she desperately wanted to grab it, as though it was _meant_ to be hers. With some difficulty, as though some force was resisting her, she wrapped her fingers around it and the wind dissipated, flipping a few pages of the open book but otherwise leaving her room untouched.

"Good! It accepted you!"

She wanted to ask what would have happened if it _hadn't_ accepted her, but didn't get the chance - Lailah was clapping her hands and rushing to her side. "Alisha, that was _incredible_! Oh, I should have recorded it!"

Turning the spear over in her hands, Alisha looked puzzled, "What is this?"

"It's a spear."

"...I can see that much," She pointed out, "How is this going to help?"

"When you find one of the cards, you can use that to seal it back into its card form. They'll be causing all sorts of mischief now that they've run away."

Alisha still didn't quite get the point, and chewed her bottom lip, "Maybe I should get my brother, after all…"

"No!" Lailah insisted, "This is wonderful, you're a magical girl!" When Alisha looked at her incredulously, she smiled so hard she was almost sparkling. "You have to keep your identity secret, and --oh, I can make you cute clothes!" She spun around, delighted.

"That doesn't sound very sensible," Alisha pointed out.

"But it is," Atakk replied, "the fewer people that are aware of the cards and the trouble they can cause, the better. They can attract a lot of unwanted danger to you."

Alisha would've frowned harder, if she could. "What have I agreed to?"

Between Atakk and Lailah, Alisha realized she was cornered, and couldn't win. She kept her wits about her and thought carefully on the mischief and danger she'd just been warned of, concerned and possibly frightened for her situation. Meanwhile, Lailah took all of her measurements and promised a cute outfit for her to 'fight evil' in (and Alisha couldn't deny that fighting evil would be something she'd take an immediate interest in, but throwing herself into unnecessary danger wasn't the same as fighting evil).

The spear could also shrink down when it wasn't needed, on a delicate chain she could wear around her neck. When Lailah left for the night, after a dinner where Sorey kept glancing at her and asking if she was okay, Alisha went back to her room, closed the book, and climbed into bed. Maybe she'd wake up and the entire day would turn out to have been a dream. Instead, she dreamed of silvery, shining wings, and heard a bird distantly crying out. A short, vague dream that she hoped wasn't another odd premonition.

  


* * *

 

 

Mikleo hadn't come over that night, so Sorey was talking to him over the phone. It just felt weird if they weren't around each other constantly, or… something like that. He knew he was a pest, but Mikleo was the one person in the world he trusted to never mind that. Maybe even enjoy it.

"She's still kind of out of it," Sorey told him, worried, cradling the phone against his shoulder while flipping the pages of a book he'd already read. "Maybe she'll cheer up when we meet up with you on the walk to school tomorrow?"

He knew Alisha was fond of Mikleo, and he cheered her up easily just by being around. Sorey could definitely understand that sort of feeling.

"Are you talking about her, or you?" Came Mikleo's dry response. It drew a sheepish laugh from Sorey, because he couldn't deny it. "Well, either way, I hope she does cheer up. Have you checked on her?"

"Not yet… I'll wait until she's asleep. There was a weird feeling coming from her room earlier." He heard Mikleo hum like he understood, but Sorey wasn't sure he'd done justice to his explanation. It felt like, rather than just being able to react to strange, supernatural forces, his sister was starting to radiate them. She was changing. It was worrying, even though the power didn't feel malevolent.

"Speaking of sleep--"

"No…" Sorey whined, "Already?"

"It's a school night. I have to get my laundry done and finish my homework, and talking to you isn't helping with that."

Even though Mikleo couldn't see it, Sorey pouted.

"You're pouting, aren't you?" Mikleo asked with a sigh. Again, Sorey laughed it off quietly. "Go check on Alisha, then. I've got things to do."

"Good night, Mikleo!"

"Good night." He hung up first - once or twice (or a dozen times), Sorey had remembered something at the last second right before hanging up, and so Mikleo got in the habit of just waiting for that, which was a cute habit in Sorey's opinion.

On tiptoes, Sorey crept through the hall and opened Alisha's door. The odd book sat on her desk, free of dust and perfectly at rest. The doll-he-knew-wasn't-a-doll sat innocently at the foot of her bed, now with a hat on. Where Alisha curled into a ball, there was a faint glow over her heart; others probably wouldn't be able to see it. Whatever power it was, it was winding around her like a dozen ribbons, soaking into her body, and he watched for a moment before shutting the door. Whatever she had now, it would keep her safe.

Their mother - his stepmother, technically - met him outside the door with a sharp look. "Is Alisha okay?" She was a tall woman with striking features, and gave off a sharper impression than she should have. Her red hair was down and curling over her shoulders.

"Yeah, she's going to be fine," he reassured her. "I'll make sure to keep an eye on her."

"That's a relief," she sighed and folded her arms, a relaxed smile spreading on her face. "Get into bed. There's no use worrying over her. She's a strong girl."

"Yeah, she is," Sorey agreed wholeheartedly, stretching and bidding her goodnight before returning to his room.

Whatever happened, Alisha was very strong. Everyone had faith in that.

  
  



End file.
